The Awakening
by CellarGangGirl
Summary: Long before Harry Potter was born, there were two who met and disliked each other. They eventually grew to love. This is the story of the awakening of that love. xX Spoilers from DH Xx
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: Well, I think that it's rather obvious that I do NOT own Harry Potter, as I would be filthy rich if I did. And lets face it, I'm not. And also, that J.K. Rowling is one of the most inspirational writers of all time.

Hair whipping and cracking behind her like a wild fire, the sixteen-year-old sped through the cavernous halls of the ancient castle. Keeping her eyes peeled at all times for any professor who might be having trouble sleeping lately, she idly wondered if she ought to have asked for the map tonight. But she supposed that since the three of them were traveling together, and at an earlier time, it was crucial they have it rather than she. Nevertheless, she sped her pace a bit, not wanting to be the one caught, to get in trouble for the first time she could remember at Hogwarts. Finally, she emerged into the stark white courtyard, it's colors bleached by the moonlight. Fast-walking out of the courtyards outer walls, she turned left and pulled out her wand.

Roughly twelve feet down the stone wall, she stopped, turning to face it. Placing the tip of her wand against the singular red brick in front of her, she quietly muttered 'Phoenix Order'. As the grey wall of stones sunk in on itself and slid to the right, she quickly glanced at her surroundings, assuring herself that nobody was around to see her before she vanished into the dark passageway that had opened for her.

'Lumous', she quietly said after the opening had sealed, leaving her in the darkness. She followed the light thrown from the tip of her wand around the curve of the staircase, then along the narrow passage that shot down and directly away from the walls of Hogwarts. Soon she heard the whisper of voices - too soon to tell yet that they were male though she already knew - growing louder as she grew closer to the end of the underground hall. "Nix," she mumbled after placing her finger on another irregularly colored stone, blue this time. The light from the tip of her wand died out and she replaced her finger with the tip of her wand yet again, muttering her name this time. The wall of stone in front of her dissolved out of sight and she walked into the room beyond. Remus was the first to sight her as she sat herself quietly down upon a plush sofa. He smiled in greeting, which she returned. He sat back from where the boys hunched over a circular table.

"We can continue to plot our smarting defeat over our enemies another time boys. For now, there is a lady amongst our ranks." His two black-haired companions straightened their backs, turning their heads to face her. The boy to Remus' left shook his shoulder length hair out of his face, his usual arrogant and humorous smirk now gracing it. She grunted, showing to the boys she still could not find it in her to care much for his perpetual attitude.

"Funny mate, thought you'd said something like 'lady'. Not to fret though, 's only Evans." He laughed as she rolled her eyes at his pitiful remark. Her eyes landed on the other teen at the table, his messy black hair sticking out in nearly every direction, hazel eyes shining behind his glasses. She smiled a little at him. "Hey Lily." Was all he said, his cheeks turning a titch pink as he whipped back to the table, the hood of his Quidditch sweater swinging over his right shoulder before slipping back to its natural position.

She watched as they rolled up the piece of parchment they'd been examining and put it into a bag one of them had broughten, propped against a table leg. Remus joined her on the couch while Sirius and James sat in the overstuffed chairs facing them. The blue flames to her right crackled away merrily in a moment of silence between the group. None would really call them friends, not this early on in such an alliance. While the boys were the best of friends, Lily had just recently joined them. She was still attempting to push past their flaws, many though she saw. She shifted slightly, stripping herself of her traveling robes and draping them over the arm of the couch.

Sirius pointed his wand over her head, Lily jumped slightly before calming down enough to grasp the steaming cup of hot cocoa floating towards her, along with the others. She muffled a laugh by biting the edge of her mug as she watched James' glasses fog up from the steam. She quickly looked away as he looked up, thinking he knew that she'd been watching him. Instead, he set his mug down precariously on the edge of the coffee table in front of them and proceeded to whip off his glasses and clear them by rubbing them on the front of the scarlet and gold sweater. She went back to sipping at her hot cocoa, desperate for a distraction. As of late, nearly every time she saw him she saw someone nice, sometimes even cute. It felt like a betrayal to Severus, befriending his worst enemy, seeing him glare horridly at James as he did whenever they passed by a group of him and his friends in Slytherin. She huffed angrily. But then, Severus was no friend of hers any longer, now was he. Though she never saw him glare at her personally, she could never go back to him after what he had said, what he had called her...

Lily sat the now-empty mug on the table, her tongue burning. She'd accidentally drank it all, scalding her throat on the way down. She frowned, searching for a distraction from her unpleasant thoughts. She nearly hooted in joy as she found a simple one, inconspicuous. "So, what is it you three were doing that lady's such as myself," she threw a withering glance to Sirius, who merely smiled, "shouldn't know of?" She questioned, keeping the desperation out of her tone. The boys smiled amongst one another. "Scare tactics." Sirius finally said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She raised one, looking at the three of them in turn. It clicked in her head. "These - scare tactics - you mention, they wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin House, would they?" She watched him, saw the smile he was trying to fight off. She frowned, now adressing all three. "You three have put Gryffindor enough below in our house points. We don't need you to put us actually BELOW Slytherin. Ravenclaw is already beating us by four, at least they were at the end of yesterday. We should be focusing on beating them. You know, which requires good behavior." She tried desperately to divert them from whatever they were planning. She knew who'd been pulling out all the stops against Slytherin in the previous weeks, and she knew why. They, all three of them, had been present when Severus had called her that dreadful name, and she knew by now, since she had stopped despising them, that amongst them all, not a one harbored any feeling of good towards the word. They all despised it with a surprising intensity for boy's so young. She only hoped that she could get through to them with her knowledge of this singular fact.

She sat back, calming herself. They all watched her raptly, expecting more outburst any second. She glanced back at them all coolly. "You can't do this to defend me. Severus may call me whatever he wishes, whether I approve, you approve, or nobody approves. It is a dreadful thing to say to someone, but the truth of the matter is that it is over with. Do not make Gryffindor House suffer for a word used with such carelessness." She spoke smoothly, never raising her voice, never inflecting them with a deeper meaning. The three boys looked back at her in a stretching silence, impregnated with held-back oppositions and arguments brewing in their heads. Slowly, they conceeded. Remus was the first to nod in acquiesence. James came roughly 20 seconds later, slumping back into the cushion of his chair with exhaustion that seemed nearly physical. All three stared at Sirius, the only one left to decide. After about a minute of everyone staring at him, he expelled a large gust of breath. "Fine!" He said in angry defeat before adverting his eyes to stare into the flames of the enchanted fire. She sighed and sent a dazzling smile to the other boys, who simply nodded and looked away.

They sat in a rather uncomfortable silence for a minute or two before anybody moved. Eventually, the boys turned back to face her and one another, though the silence continued as pensive looks were cast everywhere but to the other people. Eventually, a voice broke the noise, startling everyone, seemingly even its owner. "Oh. You're out of hot cocoa." James said before quickly pulling his wand out and flourishing it towards her mug which suddenly filled once again with hot cocoa, this time little marshmallows floated on top. She smiled a little at it and picked up the cup, bringing it to her lips for a sip. "Thank you very much." She kindly replied, and continued to sip at her sweet drink. Remus stood suddenly, catching their attention. He walked over to the bag they'd placed the parchment into earlier. He pulled out a leathery, brown bag that fit in his hand and carried it back to the couch with him. Pulling the drawstring open, he pulled out a small round object. It was bright pink and as such, looked like a painted wooden bead. He handed the bag to her. She took it carefully, setting her cocoa onto the table, suspicious as to what he'd pulled out of the bag. She watched him pop it into his mouth and figured it couldn't be TOO horribly bad if he was eating it. She dropped her hand in and pulled out a bright green bead. His eyes widened hugely as she slowly lifted it to her lips. Just before the rubbery bead touched said lips, he dove for her hand, yelping a sudden 'no'. Her eyes widened as she was knocked down onto the couch under him, the bead falling from her fingers onto the floor from her shock. He lay half on top of her now, holding her wrist tightly but not painfully. He huffed, blowing hair off of his forhead. He crawled back off her, grasping her hand to pull her back into a proper sitting position. She only stared at him with wide eyes, obviously expecting an explanation for his odd behavior.

He sighed. "That's not the kind you were supposed to grab. Try again. If you get another green one, just toss it back." He obscurely assured her. She frowned, but dug again, closer to the bottom this time. The one she pulled out was electric blue. She frowned up at him, but as he did not react the same way, she popped what she presumed was a candy into her mouth. Her eyes widened in wonder, though she made sure she chewed and swallowed before speaking. "It's tastes just like an AirHead!" She proclaimed excitedly, searching through the bag in her hands to find another blue bead. She looked up as she chewed on the second one and viewed three masks of confusion staring at her. After she'd swallowed again, Remus spoke. "What is an 'Air Head'?" Her eyes widened in realization as the truth hit her. "That's right! I'm sorry, I totally forgot you were all raised in a wizarding society! I was raised with muggles, so... Well, anywho, an AirHead is a type of candy. Long and individually wrapped, chewy and somewhat stretchy. They have different flavors, Cherry, Watermelon, Blueberry, and so on... The blue ones, they taste like the Blueberry AirHeads." She explained rapidly, searching avidly for yet another. Once she had found it and savored it, she looked up again, feeling stares.

All three boys were watching her, tiny smiles on their faces. She was snared for a moment by James' lopsided lips, wondering what they would taste like combined with the taste of the candy. She blushed, looking back at the bag. Seeming to only now remember where it had come from, she thrust it back at Remus, who watched with eyebrows raised in surprise at her sudden movement. "Here, they're yours. I mustn't eat anymore. May I ask though, where you got them? I should like to buy some myself." She questioned amiably as he held the sack. He frowned at it for a moment before pulling the drawstring to close it and tossing the small sack to her lap. She caught it, frowning at him. "No, Remus, I couldn't. You spent your money on them, just because I like them..." She started to protest, but he quickly cut her off. "No no, you see, I didn't spend anything on them. I MADE them, Lily." She only blinked at him in her surprise. "You... Made them?" She questioned, taken aback. "Yes! I was very proud. I'm glad to see the first person to try them liked them." He smiled pleasantly to her. She seemed to get some of her stature back, and smiled politely back to him. "Glad to be your taste-tester, Remus." She said jokingly, setting everyone to laughing. "Just whatever you do, don't eat the green ones." Her brow frowned in confusion. "They taste like bogies." He answered the unspoken question. Sirius burst into a rather loud fit of uncontrollable laughter. James merely snickered before controlling himself.

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius, turning back to Lily. "Or anyway, I THINK they taste like them. They're supposed to, but I haven't had the courage to test them myself. Either way, best not to try." He spoke loudly, struggling to be heard over Sirius' catterwhauling. James snickered again. Lily smiled in earnest to Remus, befrore reopening the pouch and pulling out every color she could find, questioning what it was supposed to taste like. Once Sirius calmed down, it was much easier to converse as the hours dwindled down until the knew they would leave soon so as to be back in time to get to classes without anyone noticing they'd been gone. Soon enough, she found herself standing, pulling on her traveling robes and stuffing the pouch of beans into an inner pocket. The boys all watched her. She sighed. "I have to go now. How unfortunate that, unlike you three, I am not so wondrous in my sneaking abilities. I don't relish the thought of being caught, thank you." She said before turning her back to the boys, walking towards the exit. "Wait up!" She heard, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. James was reaching for his own traveling robes, laid over the back of the chair he'd been in at the table, then rushing over to her. He pulled out his own wand, pressing it to the other side of the blue stone. The wall disintegrated and James allowed her to pass in front of him. She lit the wand, leading him and herself out of the little space that was quickly become a slight bit claustrophobic.

She took giant but silent breaths of clean, fresh air when they at last were outside of the castle's walls, above ground once again. The earth around was lit by the pre-dawn brightness of the sun they still could not see, there were birds chirping and other animals rustling all around. She sighed, smiling, at the magic all around her that was nature. She glimpsed James, seeing that he was watching her with an odd look on his face. She let her arms fall back to her sides. "What?" She questioned. He simply shook his head, the look flashing away. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He stated, reaching into his robes, pulling something out of an inner pocket. It was wrapped into a tight bundle, and even though she'd seen it only once, she recognized it immediately as his Invisibility Cloak. He draped it over his shoulders, causing the odd effect of seeing someone's head floating around without a body. He headed back towards the courtyard, but stopped just outside of it. He held the cloak open towards her. "Come on," he whispered. "I can get you back to the common room without being seen. We just have to be quiet." He waved at her to come to him. She was reminded of the feeling of claustrophobia in the tunnel, then looked again at him. It was truly the only fool-proof way to get back without getting caught. She smiled a bit, barely lifting the corner of her lips.

She shuffled under the cloak with him and he closed it about them. They stood facing each other, frozen for a moment of time, faces close and eyes wide before he coughed, turning from her. She turned to face the same direction as well, and they shuffled off into the corridors lit by the light of pre-dawn, up staircases to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they parted ways for their own dormitories.

AN: Yes, there are many things I may need to explain. As Rowling has described them getting together finally in their 7th year, this is set in the 6th year(hence the age). I figured that there had to be a time where she saw him and he was changing. It is apparently never mentioned(though if you've heard otherwise from a reliable source, I'd like to know) when exactly during their schooling that Voldemort rose up, so I placed it reasonably close to the end. They were part of the original Order of the Phoenix, and I intended their little underground room to be a sort of meeting place for the Order, which they, mainly the boys, just liked to use to hang out sometimes. Though I guess it's not explained very well in the story, Lily was not expected to be there that night. I had to make Lupid really fit in with James and Sirius, so I made him a bit more like Fred and George. Sorry if this totally throws anyone off. Lastly, thank you for reading, review please. =)


	2. The Snogging

AN: Well, I had originally meant this to be a little one-shot drabble about James and Lily. But, at the behest of Zoe, I guess I'm continuing it. They'll all be like their own little one-shots, but they will be as cannonical as I can make them. I have to admit to an act horrifying for a writer: I haven't done all my research. As far as everything up to the 7th book, I've only seen the movies. And since we all know that movies cut lots out & change stuff, I've been sticking to stuff from the 7th book and info I found online. I'll try to fix that little problem ASAP, though. Now, go ahead and enjoy! Reviews are godsends!

Disclaimer: Still not in the owning of HP. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to scrounge up money by doing household chores just to buy a ridiculously over-priced Gryffindor jacket. J.K. Rowling is my god.

Lily blinked, the impression of the flames dancing behind her eyes. She looked to the left, where Sirius had hopped over the back of the couch she was sitting on only to crash down next to her, his sprawled body nearly dominating the rest of the space. She scooted back from him, frowning and glaring into his eyes, eternally dancing with an inner mischievous flame. "What?" She petulantly questioned after a prolonged moment of silence. He simply smirked at her, shaking his head and sitting up, allowing Remus to join them. She quickly shifted her attentions, knowing that even on Sirius' best day, she'd get better information from Remus. "Would you happen to have a clue as to what he's on about?" She questioned, leaning to get a clear view past Sirius' shaggy black mane. She would swear his parents couldn't care less about his appearance. But then, neither did her own as of late.

"Oh, he's just come down from talking with James. No clue what they were talking about, sorry. I was down here myself, working on Professor Kittlebourne's homework." He said, tilting his head back to indicate the small two-person table on the opposite side of the Common Room. She nodded in understanding. "What were you stuck on?" She questioned. He leaned forward now as well, catching her eye for the discussion. "Well, I'm still stuck as a matter of fact. It's the environment of Jupiter. He asked for specifics, but I have almost no clue where to find them. I've searched the book for every fleeting mention of the planet, but nothing comes up that is all that more specific than the other planet's environments." He animatedly discussed their Astronomy homework.

"Oh! I got stuck on the same one for a short while! But then, as I was trying to remember if he'd said anything in class about Jupiter, I remembered he'd pointed out that Muggle-written book on his desk, 'To View The Stars As Home'. So I went down to the Library to see if they had it, and Mrs. Puddlemere just smiled at me and pulled it out from behind a stack on her desk. She said it was a sort of test to see if we were really learning from our classes, or if it was just a blow-off class to all of us. I'd give you the answers, but I think I heard her writing as I left. He's probably keeping track of who's actually going one hundred percent on it, so you'd better go down yourself." He smiled greatfully and stood, grabbing the books he'd set down when he'd come to join them. She could hear him mumbling the name of the book under his breath on his way out.

As Remus had left, she was forced to give her attention back to Sirius, who still sat there lazily, just smirking at her. She glared back at him for a few moments before blowing out a gust of air, setting her bangs aflight. "What do you want, Black? I was enjoying myself." His smirk grew as he swung both arms around the back of the couch, stretching out. "By staring at the flames? Yeah, I've always known that to be bloody interesting. Finally gotten over Snivellus, have you? James told me you two were snogging yesterday, that's why it took you so long to get to dinner." He said, his infantile smirk growing wider with each sentance until it nearly burst off his face. Her eyes grew large and she suddenly grabbed his right arm, uprooting him from his casual perch and dragging him to a darker corner of the room. She pushed him into the corner itself, where he seemed to try to shrink into the wall, most likely because she now pressed her wand into his stomach. There was barely any menace in the slight pressure she placed upon the object, but he knew she'd make good of the unspoken threat if he upset her. "What exactly did James say?" She questioned in a threatening near-whisper, making sure they didn't draw the attention of the few others in the Common Room.

He smirked again; this was hardly surprising to her, the horrid smirk was nearly always on his face. He tossed his head to the side, flipping hair that had fallen into his face back off to the side before answering. "We were only talking about Quidditch when he blurted it out, don't get your knickers in a twist. Weren't even saying anything about Snivellus." He sniffed, reaching around her wand to scratch his nose. She pulled the wand away, placing it back in the pocket of her uniform skirt for now. He relaxed a bit when the warm wood was no longer pressed against his torso. She turned to sit at a nearby table, another seated for two. "Don't call him that." She tossed futilely over her shoulder at him. She knew that Sirius would never stop antagonizing Severus. She also knew that he had deeply offended her, that they could no longer be the best friends they once were. However, she couldn't seem to shake the rather instinctual habit of defending him against these rowdy boys, namely Sirius, even after all this time. Soothing herself by mentally commenting she'd do the same were it anyone else, she sank into a chair as Sirius flopped down opposite her.

"What, exactly, did he 'blurt out'?" She questioned, realizing he still hadn't told her precisely what had been said. "Well, he pretty much just started going on about you. Your hair, your brains, and I really just started tuning him out when all of the sudden, I hear him going on to the ceiling about how SNOGGING you was, and I just stopped him right there. I was just like 'Why the bloody hell would you snog her?' and he just said why wouldn't he and I told him that it wasn't a good idea to snog girls who don't like you or your friends." She barely repressed a giggle, though as it were she was grinning from ear to ear by the time he finished explaining. He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. She shook her head slightly at the antics of the boys, much different when they were all by themselves, in a way that she herself could appreciate. It therefore took her a moment to realize why he was gazing at her so expectantly.

"Oh, honestly Sirius! I don't hate you, you know. It's not even that I don't like can be a perfectly fine gentleman when you want to. And that's the point. You never act it. You're always playing tricks on people, you never stop. It's rather rude. You still poke fun at me whenever the opportunity arises! How can you expect me to just enjoy that?" She questioned, tilting her head and frowning at him. He merely frowned back. "That still doesn't say anything about your dislike for James. And yet you go around snogging him?" He tossed at her. She sat up a little straighter, raising her nose in a natural reaction. "Oh please. As if you're anyone to judge whom I do and do not like, Sirius!" There was a moment of silence from their table, in which he sat, the singular eyebrow still raised in a scrutinizing manner. She deflated, slumping down into her chair.

"Besides," she started as she glared at the table with her lips pursed, refusing to look at him. "James has changed a great deal since first year. He doesn't tease and play jokes and poke fun at others like you and Peter. He's grown up. Whereas you, on the other hand, seem to have only gotten younger and younger." She tossed the last sentance on, needing to defend her own pride. She looked up to see his blank face staring back at her, blinking rather rapidly. Thinking on it, she couldn't seem to remember ever having seen his face entirely blank, devoid of any emotion. He stood suddenly, dragging her attention to the present day. He walked past her, clapping her on the shoulder as he went, manouvering across the room towards the stairs that spun up to their dorms. Staring after him for only a moment, her cheeks grew warm as James suddenly appeared where Sirius had just dissapeared behind the curving stone walls. He glanced around at the small groups gathered here and there before his eyes landed on her. They locked eyes before she quickly dropped her own to scrutinize imaginary shapes on the table before her.

A moment later she was forced to glance back up as he sunk down into the seat across from her, leaning forward over the table, causing his hazel eyes, chocolate and fresh grass swirled together in an endless vortex, to be radically close to her. She pulled her own head back, glancing about them. She hadn't realized while she'd been conversing with Sirius, but their location in the room was rather intimate, personal. They were in a darkened corner to the right of the fireplace, and she wondered if the room had not been designed in a manner so as to create places like this for couples who wanted alone time. As they were really supposed to stay to their own gender's dormitories, the Common Room was really the only place for such displays of affection, and she had to admit, these little darkened corners truly did the trick. She doubted that anyone would really notice they were there if they simply glanced about the room. Her eyes whipped back to his as he grasped one of her hands where it had been resting against the table. She wondered idly if there was even enough room on the slim piece of wood for two pieces of parchment before all thoughts stopped as James suddenly leaned forward and her eyes slammed shut as his lips pressed against hers. It wasn't even close to full-on snogging, but the brief kiss still seemed too intimate in manner to be shared in the Common Room.

When James pulled back, he had a silly little smirk upon his face as he fell back to his previous position leaning over the table. She blinked three times rapidly, falling back to rest against the chair, it's wooden back supporting her. She cleared her throat before speaking. "I've told you not to do that in public!" She whispered, her cheeks flaring red as her hair. He reached up, tucking a lock of the flaming red hair behing her left ear, the smile still in place. "No, you told me we couldn't SNOG in public. That wasn't snogging, that was a little kiss, I barely touched you. And anyways, the Common Room is hardly public. It's not like I just stood up and kissed you in front of the entire school in the Great Hall or anything." He explained, the ever-present air of importance in his voice. She doubted it would ever entirely leave, but it was less pure arrogance now, and more she suspected from his presence in his family. It must have been the single child presence that made him so all-important. She had to admit, it gave him an air of... aloofness. Though as of late, she'd noticed him more and more, helping first years find rooms, picking up books when other students bumped into him. She blushed slightly brighter when she remembered walking around the corner in a corridor only to see him helping a flustered Molly Prewett pick up her books. She'd been incredibly envious and rather angry, though she knew it was an entirely irrational anger, knew that he harboured not even a slight romantic feeling for Molly. They both thought she was a very nice girl, helpful and kind, a truly good person to have as a friend. Besides that fact, she'd seen Molly the past few weeks eyeing Arthur Weasley in Muggle Studies rather than paying attention to the lessons. Lily was glad, as most people avoided Arthur because of his family's bad name. It was truly cruel, she thought, that people who were not even alive during the incident were punished for a family member's previous misgivings.

With no small effort, she drew her attention back to James, who was smiling at her like she was the best thing since Butterbeer. She frowned at him. "What?" She questioned, confused as to what could be the reason behind his wide smile. He quirked up a corner of his mouth, creating a cute little off-kilter smile that always caused her thoughts to pause. "It's nothing. Just... I love when you do that." He criptically spoke, causing her brow to furrow even deeper. "Do what? I didn't do anything. I was just sitting here." She frowned, her bottom lip jutting out slightly. "Not that. When you zone out like you do, staring off into space. Your eyes cloud over, but there's such brilliance behind the fog, I'm always wondering what you're thinking of. It drives me mad, though I've never seen anything prettier than your foggy emeralds." He said, the tilted smile still conquering his mouth. She simply stared at him for a few silent moments, captivated by the smile. Those were the most romantic words that had come from anyone's mouth, she was certain. She hadn't even known he'd be capable of such a speech. She blinked at him for a few moments before quickly standing, pushing the chair back with her movement. She grasped his right hand and dragged him from the table, pulling him along out the entry way to the Gryffindor Common Room, passing through long corridors and going down stairs, not waiting for them to attach to the other end before rushing down them.

Passing through a long corridor on the second floor, Remus walked by them, saying a pleasant hello. She merely tossed a quick, not quite as curteous 'hello' over her shoulder at him as she continued to drag James past, leaving Remus to watch them disappear down the stairs at the other end of the lengthy corridor with a lost expression about him. Finally, they reached her destination and she tossed him rather roughly against the twisted willow in the middle of the empty courtyard, the setting sun appearing to set her head aflame, lighting the strands of James' hair with reds, oranges and pinks. As she looked up at him a blush stole over her cheeks while she thought of her unplanned event. He surprised her by once again pushing a lock of hair behind an ear and smirking. "You look like someone pushed you into a fire." He joked. She frowned, pushing lightly at his right shoulder, smiling herself at the statement. She bit her lip lightly before stepping closer to him.

"James?" She started, not sure how to go about this. "Yeah?" He questioned, looking down one her. She took in a gulp of breath, bracing herself. "I love you." She said, looking up at him, watching intently for his reaction. He blinked at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. In any other situation she would have laughed, told him to close his gob before he caught flies. Rather suddenly, he let out an explosive 'HA!', causing her to jump nearly a foot into the air. He wrapped his large arms around her, hugging her tightly to him and swinging her in large circles, her legs flying out behind her. She giggled as his booming laugh vibrated her own skin. Soon enough he fell backwards, arms still around her, crashing to the ground with her on top of him. They simply lay for a couple of minutes, wordless. She looked up, pulling her head back as he moved below her. He was looking down at her, a small but extremely happy smile on his face. "I love you too, Lily Evans." He smiled wider, grasping her tightly around her waist, pulling her up for a moment of brilliant snogging just as the sun set beyond the boundaries of Hogwarts.

AN: Gotta love the fluff. Lol, Sirius. That's my favorite part. =) R&R!!!


	3. The Announcement

AN: Well, a key piece of this story may be confusing to some. In the first movie, they show that James was a seeker. JK Rowling said that she'd intended for him to be a Chaser, so in my story, that's what he is. I have taken the liberty to make up every other player in the game, not Rowling. Also, this would be a different game from the game spoken of in the first chapter, as that was their 6th year and this is 7th year. Enjoy, R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, that's still J.K. Rowling. Though I do now own a wonderful reversible Gryffindor jacket. =)

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Lily sat on the edge of the seat, watching as James and Dana, Gryffindor's two slighter Chasers, tossed the quaffle in a complicated triple-figure-eight across the pitch. The slim black-haired wonders weaved between people who showed as only green-and-silver blurs, eventually leading up to Maurissa Kleet, Slytherin's viscious Keeper. They flew around in front of her, the quaffle constantly shifting hands, trying to confuse the girl as to who would be attempting to toss it past her and through one of the three hoops. The reddish ball was lost to the crowd soon and Lily could only follow the chasers, swirling about each other. It helped in the disillusion that Dana wore her hair rather short, and always kept it up when they played. The girl barely had a chest, she was so slight, and she worked that to Gryffindor's advantage, ordering her uniform shirt a size too big, making her seem about the same size as James. Of course, this was amongst Gryffindor's most treasured secrets, none of the other teams' players knew that. So rapidly the crowd nearly missed it, Dana heaved all her weight behind the quaffle, holding onto her broom by wrapping her legs around it and linking her feet together, sending the ball rocketing through the hoop directly to the right of Maurissa's head. As she flew to her feet, standing to cheer with the other Gryffindor's, Lily could imagine Maurissa's hair floating about as she seethed, disturbed by the air whipping past her.

She flopped back onto the fluffy blanket they'd placed on the bench as the Slytherin's attempted to bring the quaffle back to Gryffindor's Keeper, only to be intercepted halfway to Thomas by Gryffindor's third Chaser, Boggard, who flew in the opposite direction underneath Dimitri, ripping the quaffle from his Slytherin hands and tossing it to Dana. They flew about the pitch, Dana carrying the quaffle by wrapping as much of her body as possible while on a broomstick around the ball. She sped about, head tilted down, as Lee beat off a rocketing Bludger headed for her. Dana and Boggard amused themselves by playing a quick game of 'Where's the Quaffle' with Maurissa before Dana once again slammed it through a hoop, throwing Gryffindor's score up to a soaring 180, paralyzing against Slytherin's mere 90. The game against Ravenclaw was yet to be played, but most Gryffindor's were sure by their score already that they would be winning this year's Quidditch Cup.

Edgar Slotworth, a fourth-year Hufflepuff student, excitedly reported every move made by any participant of the game, all four houses watching the ongoing rivalry with hightened anticipation, barely able to stand waiting to see the outcome of the game. Before the game had picked up the pace, Lily had been able to see Severus and Avery, his best friend, sitting side by side on the front row of the Slytherin bleachers directly across from her. She was brought back to the rapid game by a shout from Sirius, sitting next to her, and many boo's from her fellow Gryffindor's as Slytherin scored against Thomas, bringing them into the hundreds. The loud ding that came with the hundred-mark sounded throughout the stadium as Madame Lambre added the points to the scoreboard. The ruthless, fast-paced game continued on for roughly fourteen minutes, in which time Gryffindor and Slytherin raised their respective scores considerably to a high 240 and 170. Just as the Slytherin's played their second interception of the game, something caught Lily's attention out of the corner of her eye. She looked down to the bench directly in front of her, where she raised her eyebrows as she recognized the fluffy ginger curls of Molly Prewett's head resting against the neck and shoulder of Arthur Weasley. She smiled brightly at the romance, thinking of James. As she raised her sights once again to the players, she was forced to do a double-take, before rapidly elbowing Sirius slightly in his side, reaching up to lightly smack Remus on his knee in his place behind her, pulling the attention of the two rabid fans towards her. She pointed, her hand slightly shaking, to the teams' Seekers, Charlotte and Kirk, who were diving and circling rapidly halfway between the other players and the ground. While most of the school remained focused on yet another airbourne war currently being waged over the quaffle, Lily and their group began to tap other Gryffindor's in a rapidly-spreading arc around themselves, drawing the entire House's attention to the rapidly-moving Seekers.

They watched as a House, in rapt attention as the Seekers sped and swept past each other, trying to derail each other from their course, their eyes never leaving their second-year Charlotte, her long brunette hair, in a ponytail, whipping chaotically against her back. She dove and circled, swirling past the more-aggressive Kirk, at one point even flipping upside-down on her broomstick to avoid a crash with the opposing Seeker, all the while keeping her own eyes on the elusive Snitch, too small for the crowd to see. Every now and again, as the sun hit just right between the thick-yet-sparse clouds, they could see a glint of gold just before the Seekers, always two steps ahead of them. Every now and again there would be a ring, the sound of another point scored by the teams, however none of them was keeping track of the score any longer, all eyes were glued to the Seekers, waiting rather impatiently for one of them to catch the Snitch, to end the game that had raged since two o'clock, when it was now going on three-thirty. The Gryffindor's grew more and more excited with every glimpse of the spark of light before the two younger players, as it grew closer to them at every sighting. The rest of the cheering crowd soon became aware that the chase was on as the Snitch apparently rocketted upwards, the Seekers pulling straight up through the other players in pursuit. They swung about on their broomsticks as the other players continued below, a ring soon sounding out, followed by Edgar bellowing out 'Gryffindor is now in the 300 point range!!!' before reporting humorously on how long it would take them to catch the Snitch.

Charlotte managed to pull off an amazing maneuver, avoiding an incoming Kirk and Bludger at the same time, causing the two to crash into each other, momentarily stunning the boy. He was soon in hot pursuit of her though, and they circled up the spectator tower sporting Hufflepuff's House colors, swirling in a fashion similar to the red-and-white swirling tubes muggle's commonly placed outside Barber Shops. Gryffindor's raised inches from their seats as Charlotte and Kirk reached the top of the tower at the same moment, both reaching out and closing their fists at the same time, their hands appearing to bump against each other. All noise stopped in the stadium as even the players stopped their movements, James holding the quaffle on his way towards the Slytherin hoops. Everyone looked to the two Seekers, waiting to see who held the Golden Snitch, which House had won this round. Breath held, all eyes watched intently as the Seekers gazed at their hands, before Charlotte suddenly rocked back on her broom, shooting her still-closed fist into the air and cheering, her smile wide in ecstatic laughter. The Gryffindor's all jumped up in their stands, screaming and cheering their defeat over Slytherin as Kirk rocketed angrily, along with his team, to the ground, dismounting immediately and storming off to their changing rooms. In the air above, James dropped the quaffle and the Bludgers dropped of their own accord, as he and the other members looped around, doing victorious circles and figures in the air. Thomas and Courtney, the other Beater, whipped out their wands to set off scarlet and gold fireworks over the team as Charlotte returned, still grasping her first Snitch, elated over having won the game for her team. They laughed and flew about, giving each other high-fives and congratulatory pats on the back, the smiles on their faces brighter than the sun above.

Back in the stands, groups of Gryffindor's of all ages jumped and cheered, hugging each other in victory. Lily watched Molly's shocked reaction as Arthur kissed her on the cheek before blushing brightly. She smiled brightly as Sirius turned to everyone around him, passing out high-fives like Mrs. Keesh in Hogsmeade with her cheese. Her eyes widened and she laughed hysterically as he and Remus wrapped their arms around her, hugging her tightly in their joy. A sudden movement of the people in front of her caught her attention as they finally freed her from their joined grasp and she watched in surprise as James flew straight towards her. The entire stadium fell silent as he stopped inches from her face. He leaned forward, grasping her cheek with one hand and promptly placing a pleasant kiss on her lips before expanding the chaste kiss to a full-out snog for just a few moments, then pulling away to go back to celebrating with his teammates. There were a few moments of absolute silence from the crowd, Gryffindor's, Hufflepuff's, Ravenclaw's and even Slytherin's, before Sirius suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter as he often did at her expense, setting off the entire Gryffindor house to hoot, holler, cheer and clap. She blushed, ducking her head to hide her face behind her hair. They continued to cheer and clap until the team finally dismounted, charging with victorious strides to the changing rooms, Charlotte(who'd relinquished the Snitch to Ogg, the Gamekeeper) still jumping up and down in her excitement, flanked by Dana and Courtney.

As the people all around her, and all around the stadium, began to gather their things to take on their trek back to the castle, she stood looking around the stadium, waiting for Remus to wrap up his blanket. Her eyes wandered to the place where she had seen Severus at the beginning of the game, only to see him staring across the pitch, directly at her. It was a probing, unnerving stare, one that made her throw her gaze elsewhere the moment she caught his eyes. She was relieved, as she could feel them, his eyes, burning into her skin, when the boys were finally ready to go and they lost themselves in the crowd of students trying to rapidly escape the stands. One thing was for sure. They were CERTAIN to win the Quidditch Cup this year, with a brilliant starting score of 330. And they still had to play Ravenclaw, who'd only scored 120 in their winning match against Hufflepuff. She smiled brightly at the winning thought, shouting a loud 'GO GRYFFINDOR' as they escaped to the ground through stairs below the stands, cheers ringing out all around in response to her House support.

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AN: Thanks for reading another installment of 'The Awakening' people! Don't forget to review now!!!


	4. The Cursing

AN: Well, I have to say that the Fervilodorius Curse is mine. I invented it. =) Also, asthesunshines, being an amazing reader, has informed me(oddly enough, the very day that I figured it out) that I'm worng about two things. 1, Molly and Arthur are like, 10 years older than Lily & the Marauders. 2, Ogg is the game keeper while Molly & Arthur are at Hogwarts, but it's Hagrid by the time the Marauders attend. I would also like to point out that Regulus Arcturus was a year younger than Sirius and Seeker of Slytherin, so that is wrong as well. Luckily, I don't think that there's going to be more Quidditch, so I don't have anything to really do about the last two oopsie's. However, Molly and Arthur are a rather integral part of my story, so I will be keeping them. If this puts anyone off from reading my stories, I'm extremely sorry. If it causes a large problem, think of it as an AU... where Molly and Arthur are younger.

Disclaimer: I do not, however, own Harry Potter or his world. That's all J.K. Rowling's imagination, I just got sucked in and decide to play with the characters.

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As she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, Molly at her side chatting about the last quidditch game with Alice, who was also flanking her, Lily's spirits fell. She looked to the group of three, sitting in their casual stances, missing a Marauder. Sighing, she continued to walk on, eventually seating herself across from Sirius. The girls sat on her sides as they had while walking, bringing their conversation over Ravenclaw's advantages to an end.

"Where's James?" Molly questioned as the three girls filled their plates with biscuits, eggs, and golden hash patties. Sirius and Remus glanced at the girl who'd beaten Lily to the point, Peter still shoveling in his eggs. She watched the boys with interest as she buttered her biscuits and dribbled honey over them. Sirius shrugged and Remus took a bite from his hash patty. "Didn't get out of bed this morning, lazy prat. Asked him if he was coming, he just groaned and entirely refused that Hogwarts existed." Sirius spoke drolly, his eyes drooping a bit. It was quite obvious he was still half asleep, Lily stifled a giggle by taking a bite from her biscuit and chewing thoughtfully.

After swallowing, and waiting for Molly to stop giggling after Arthur tactlessly dropped his own honey-smothered biscuit on his shirt front, Lily spoke. "He's just going to lay about all day then? Can you imagine how furious Professor Flitwick will be when he doesn't show up? And while I'm at it, how exactly did you get into the Head dormitories? I never saw you, either." She spoke, eyes narrowed and trained directly onto him. His eyes widened a bit and he sat up straight, possibly for the first time in his life. She wondered idly if it hurt him, a small smirk fixing onto her lips. They stared each other down for a few moments before he apparently dismissed her, shrugging and slumping back down on the spot, stuffing a forkful of eggs into his mouth and blatantly refusing to answer her questions. She crinkled her nose in annoyance and took another bite from her biscuit.

"He probably just weasled the password out of James again. You'll have to get a new one from McGonagall. Again." Remus said, startling the teens who'd been eating in silence. Lily just shook her head, entirely unsurprised by the explanation. "Probably managed to get the password to the Head bathroom while you were at it too, didn't you?" She questioned serruptitiously after swallowing. Sirius merely cast her a rather annoyed glance, continuing to slowly fill his mouth with eggs and bits of hash patty as he refused once again to answer her. "Well, not to worry Sirius, I'll set everything right. Right as rain, matter of fact." She nodded curtly while he still watched her and ducked her head to eat her own food. The seven of them were silent, the only interruption of the quiet being Molly asking for a bit of help from Lily on her homework for Muggle Studies. This was unsurprising to her, as Molly sat next to Lily often, and she continued to prefer staring at Arthur rather than paying attention to Professor Gudillus. The woman would be furious, naturally, if she ever payed much attention to her Gryffindor students.

The bell rang suddenly, the loud ringing sending all from their table into a flurry, Molly stashing her books and parchments back into her shoulder bag while Lily stood, grasping her orange juice to take a few more gulps and the rest of them set off down the long Hall towards the large, open doors. Molly, Remus and herself continued walking down the long hallway outside the room, headed for History Of Magic, while the rest of the group split off to the left and right of the doors. The three were silent until they reached the door to the open room, a bit early from their speedy walk. They walked down the stairs quickly, walking down the first isle all the way to the end, where they sat and pulled out parchment and note-taking quills, tools necessary for a boring hour-long lecture by Professor Binns. Molly nearly jumped in surprise when said ghost came into the classroom via the blackboard.

"Ah, eager students, I see. Very good, very good indeed." He spoke before proceeding to point a ghostly wand at the board, words in chalk magically appearing while their quills scribbled off across the parchment, noting the headlines. "Well, I still don't get these fashion trends, Lily. I mean honestly, why would any woman want to wear these wide-bottom pants? They are rather horrendous, you have to admit." Molly stated, her open Muggle Studies book in front of her. The redhead frowned at the drawing of a hippie while Remus discreetly snickered at the whispered words. "It's a statement, that's all Molly. It's just saying 'we're women and you can't tell us what to do', that sort of thing. Besides, you saw Tilly Masterson wearing them just this previous Saturday, and you said that they looked quite slimming on her." Lily replied. Molly pursed her lips, nodding as she placed the book back into her bag. "Yes, but... I don't know, they seemed to suit her." The other redhead replied.

Their conversation dwindled to questions over how boring today's lesson would be as other students began filing into the classroom, sitting in small groups, speckles of each houses colors everywhere, though the silver-green and scarlet-gold combinations stayed far away from each other. The bell rang once again, it's loud tinkle heard through-out the school grounds, and Lily settled in for a very long hour, tiringly similar to the long hour at the beginning of all her week days.

When class ended, the near-sleeping trio were alerted by their quills falling over on the desks and the bell tinkling once again, sending Lily off to an Advanced Transfiguration class with Remus, while Molly parted ways with them in favor of Divination. In this class the two eagerly sat in the front row nearest McGonagall, who chatted with her House students over various things, including Sirius' new-found knowledge of the Head dormitories and baths' passwords, while sixth and seventh years came filing into the room, eventually filling two-thirds of the seats. The Professor made a deep frown at her assesment of the fact that her Head Boy was not in attendance before delving into the day's lesson. The class ran a bit late, as McGonagall was forced to help two Hufflepuff boys, who'd managed to devoid each other of a few fingers in the process of the lesson. Remus and Lily chatted animatedly on their walk to lunch.

As they reached the Great Halls doors, Lily frowned and her eyes narrowed. She stalked rather angrily to where Molly, Alice, Arthur and Frank sat, reaching only onto the table for a slice of toast before setting off back the way she came. She was further irritated as she noted that Remus had left, and she hed off up stair cases, munching on the toast as she passed late-goers to lunch, who gave her stalking teen body a wide birth, even the few Slytherin's she passed didn't taunt her, though she heard them snigger behind her back as she continued on. When she got to the swerving staircases, she caught a brief glimpse at the top of the one she headed for before he stepped out of sight onto the seventh floor. The stairs stayed their path while she bounded up them, skipping a step here and there. She continued to stalk towards the Gryffindor tower's entrance, spitting out the password long before she reached the Fat Lady, causing the woman to squeak her painting open just in time for Lily to rip through the passageway, tearing across the nearly-empty Common Room and bound all the way up the stairs to her Head dormitories. She stopped only to speak the password to the beautiful lady in the portrait, who giggled at her obvious annoyance before squeaking open as well. A fire burnt in the fire place and Peter's head was thrown up to chase her with her eyes as she stalked to James' door.

She didn't bother to announce herself, merely barging in as she caught a slight 'Wait!' from Peter behind her. The moment her eyes fell upon James in his bed, they widened and all rage and annoyance faded rapidly from her system, leaving a rather cold feeling behind. She walked slowly towards his still figure as Peter could be heard entering the room. Remus stood from his seat on James' right side, grasping Lily's figure and helping her into the wooden chair while her green eyes remained glued to the boy's prone form. She jumped a bit, startled as James moaned, the cadence and fading making her think he was trying to speak. She leaned forward, subconciously trying to send comfort to the boy by her simple presence. She licked her lips, only now realizing her mouth was dry. "What happened to him?" Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, a bit scratchy to her ears.

Sirius was the one to answer. "Your precious little Snivellus, of course. Bit of payback I presume, for the quick little snog you two shared in front of the entire school." She stared at the boy in horror, entirely forgetting her previous anger at him and the fact that he shouldn't be here right now anyhow. When she only continued to stare at him, he proceeded, hints of anger carried in his voice to crash against her ears. "Well, you didn't think he'd just let that be, did you? He's a bloody Slytherin, Evans. Of course he won't. He's going to use every plan and curse he can think of to try and get you back from James, or at the least to punish him for being so much better in virtually everyone's eyes." Sirius cut himself off, his leg bouncing up and down furiously, arms draped of the arms of his chair. Her emeralds fell once again to James, who hadn't moved since she'd entered his room, possibly since the curse was put upon him.

The teen was nearly unrecognizable, only his hair proving his identity to her, in it's constant state of disarray. There were red boils and puss-filled blisters covering nearly every inch of skin that showed, she didn't need to pull the sheets down to confirmed they covered all of him. His eyes were lightly closed, and he stilled moaned, now she was certain they were words as they became more pronounced sounds. She reached forward to touch him, to let him know she was here, before Remus lightly grasped her upper arm. She turned her gaze to him, which she found to be quite an effort. He shook his head slightly. "If you touch him, some of the blisters will pop, boils will burn. The curse is designed to put him in great pain if anyone touches him. Sirius and I had to levitate him here in the dead of night from one of the less-trafficked tunnels." Remus spoke softly. Sirius picked up where he left off.

"I was the one who found him. I was looking for him, but I didn't expect to find him bloody laying on the ground like this. It was hell getting him out of his robes and into sleeping clothes. Probably only reason you didn't wake up was because Remus was smart enough to use a Silencing Charm before-hand." Lily felt bile rise in her throat, horrified by the thought. She pulled her arm out, realizing it was still half-outstretched towards to boy who was now silent. A long silence followed, dominated by her horror and mental questioning at how the boy she'd once befriended could do something like this to someone. Of course, Sirius had already answered that particular question, though her conscious mind adamantly refused it. Eventually, after a space of time Lily had no way to guess, there were muffled voices, both female. Lily was immediately reminded of Professor McGonagall and immediately she knew that the elder woman would do something about this. Sirius left the room, assumedly to meet the woman. Lily sat in silence, her eyes transfixed on James.

She hardly noticed when Sirius returned to the room, though his movement registered in his peripheral vision. She waited for McGonagall to enter the room behind him, though the moment never came. She tore her eyes from James to see Sirius, who appeared to be having a silent conversation with Remus. She could tell immediately by his expression that something was off, and it hit her rather suddenly. She'd been incorrect to assume he was going out to explain the situation to the woman, rather he'd left to difuse the situation and misdirect her attentions. Lily flew out of her seat and out the door before she registered she was moving at all. She pushed the painting open and flew down the stairs quickly as she could manage. Catching the woman by a 5th year boys' dormitory, she watched silently as a 6th year walked passed the two, before asking her into the empty dormitory room.

It was rather messy inside and she was reminded of the boy's room last year on the off occasion that she'd visit the room, only with Alice, as Frank shared a room with them. She faced the woman who watched her and wondered what she saw, before getting herself focused. "There's been a curse." She stated rather blatantly, watching the surprise rise on McGonagall's face. "Who?" The woman managed to ask. "It's James. And I believe, along with Sirius and Remus, that it was Severus Snape who cursed him." She blurted out, rather rushed. She pulled in a gasp of air while the words registered in the Head of Gryffindor's mind. "Other than the thought that they want to curse him back, I can't think of any reason that Sirius would mislead you." She said, slower this time. The elder woman pulled in a gust of breath, raising to her full height. Her pointed hat tilted towards the door. "Let us go." She simply said, her mouth set in a grim, serious line. Lily could only assume that it matched her own. They stalked up the stairs once again. The woman did not giggle in light of the serious faces, she merely squeaked open when Lily gave her the password.

Peter did not look up again as they stalked past, Lily guessed it was because she would be expected to return, though she doubted they were expecting McGonagall, as the door was still open a crack. She pressed it open and walked into the room where Sirius sat staring at James and Remus paced at the foot of the bed. After a long moment of silence they both looked to her, their recognizal of McGonagall registering immediately as Remus freezed and Sirius sent a seething glare towards Lily. On any other occasion this would have put Lily off a bit and she would have most likely fought with him. This time though, she simply turned her gaze to James and went to take her previously vacated seat. McGonagall walked to the bed side, examining James' condition. Before anyone could stop her, she reached out to touch the side of his face, presumably to turn his head. Lily heard the discomforting sound of a blister popping over the boy's low groans as McGonagall ripped her hand away from his face. He moved barely an inch before settling down again, still moaning a bit.

"This is the Fervilodorius curse, I recognize it well. A horrible thing to set on someone. The boils and blisters burn when someone comes in the vicinity, they pop if touched. It stinks, as you can tell, and is horribly painful for the cursed person. He will be immobile up to a week. This is an extreme curse for a simple classmate rivalry." The woman stated, clasping her hands together and flicking her eyes between the two boys who watched their friend like hawks. Remus answered the unasked question, clearing his throat. "He's rather... Let us say jealous, that James is with Lily. He's been upping his game ever since she started to sit with us and whatnot, but this is the first thing he's done since that Quidditch round between us and Slytherin. Expect he's still in a fury about them being together." The boy's voice faded out as his attention returned to his dark haired friend, who's moans were more like mumbling now, the closest he'd gotten to real words as of yet.

McGonagall moved, catching her attention once again. "This curse, sadly, may not be undone. Lily, I would like for you to watch over him, give him water now and then, remember not to touch him. Boys, get to your classes, lunchtime will be over shortly. I will leave the password the same for now so that you may check on him frequently. I am going to speak with Slughorn about this for now." The woman said before spinning and stepping out of the doorway, a purpose intent in her step as she stalked off in much a similar fashion to Lily's earlier departure from the Great Hall which now seemed years away to the girl in question. Sirius abruptly stood and walked out, obviously fighting the urge to disobey orders. Remus tossed a rapid 'Good Luck' over his shoulder as he left the room, pulling the door softly closed behind him. Lily redirected her attention immediately to James, settling in to watch over him. She could conjure a glass of water when the time came, she knew.

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Lily jolted awake, unaware of just exactly where she was for a couple of moments. She glanced about the unfimiliar room, the walls covered with charmed posters of famous Quidditch teams and whatnot. When her eyes landed on the empty, rumpled bed, her memory came flying back to her in little images. The past two days had been horrid, really. Thursday had taken much too long to get here, as far as she was concerned. James had been confined to his bed for the past two days due to the horrid curse Severus had cast on him, though she'd seen he was getting better rapidly, he was even able to converse with her for the better part of yesterday, cracking jokes in excess, she assumed he was attempting to make up for Sirius' absence. The full weight of the empty bed crashed into her just then and she stood, the chair scraping against the floor in protest and the blanket she hadn't realized was covering her fell to her feet. She gazed at it for merely a second before calling out to James.

Opening the door and stepping into the light of the fireplace in the early morning, James' hectic black locks fluffed up as he whipped his head aroud, viewing her over the top of the couch. The blisters and boils were gone, to her utter shock, taking all traces of themselves with them in their departure. Matter of fact, she didn't think she'd ever seen his skin looking better. She smiled lightly, walking over to join him on the couch. She noted he had Remus' notes for the past few days of Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Charms splayed out on the low table before him and papers in his lap. He appeared to be sifting through the homework he'd missed, finishing them before today's classes. She sat next to him, avoiding a small pile of papers he'd already finished.

"How long have you been up and at this?" She questioned lightly as he went back to his work, bending over the papers and biting his lip a bit. "Round about 4, I guess. I'm not tired though, and I definitely don't need to go back into my room." He stated defensively, his eyes tearing away from the paper in front of him once again to land on her. "Relax, I'm not going to tell you that you need more rest. You look pretty good from where I sit." She stated, reaching toward him. He flinched away from her, causing her to pull back the extremity, a mask of confusion gracing her face. "It still... Burns a bit, when I get near someone. I already saw Sirius this morning, suppose he'll be coming back soon." He stated, pulling his eyes away from her. She nodded slightly as he went back to his work, though he couldn't see it. She frowned when she looked down at herself for the first time. Her uniform was rumpled and there were marks on her knees from where they'd been pressed into the edges of the chairs. She stood and walked to her own room, shutting the door and changing into a crisp uniform, leaving the dirty one on the floor just inside the door for the house elves as she always did. Grasping her bag from where it rested next to James' door, she shut the light off in there and shut his door, going back to reclaim her spot next to him on the near over-stuffed sofa.

She pulled out her own papers and referred to the notes spread over the low table. Most of the homework and classwork she'd missed was finished, she'd done it during the downtime while she'd been caring for him. As she put the finishing touches on a Transfiguration essay due yesterday, Sirius stated the password, coming into the room with McGonagall and Remus in tow. He collapsed lazily into a plush red chair next to the fire, staying out of the way as McGonagall once again fretted and fussed over James, eventually agreeing that he should be fine, the burning should be gone by the end of the day, if not by their lunch hour break.

"I thought the curse was supposed to last a week?" Remus questioned quietly after McGonagall revealed his apparent health. The elder witch waved a hand in the air, attempting to demonstrate a point that none of the four understood. "It is an estimated time, Mr. Lupin. Sometimes it can take longer than a week, even. Mr. Potter here seems to have a better resiliance to the curse. There is nothing greatly remarkable about this, really. He is an active young man and extremely talented with his magicks. It could be any combination of these two factors that made him stronger against the curse." She stated simply. The four students sat in silence, mulling over this thought. Lily shrugged, following James' lead and returning to the business of her homework. McGonagall twisted, her deep green robes floating on the air behind her as she stalked out. "I shall expect to see you all in your classes today." Her voices travelled up the staircase.

Lily set her quill on her paper, raising her gaze to Sirius. "What did you do?" She questioned. It was never a question of _whether_ he did something to Severus, always _what_ he did. He responded by simply smirking at her before turning to look at Remus, laughing now. Her gaze turned to the other boy, who rolled his eyes at his friend. James was now paying attention to his friends as well. Remus leaned against the edge of the fireplace. "He did a form of... Payback. Rather effective, if I do say so myself. Bloody brilliant in its un-cruel form. I asked McGonagall what she and Slughorn had spoke about. Apparently, he wasn't so pleased that our friend Severus cursed one of his favorite pupils. He said to let us... 'work it out'." Even Remus smirked a bit at this while Sirius let out another bark of laughter and Lily simply shook her head.

Later that day, as Lily walked into her Advanced Potions class with James, Remus, Sirius and Frank, she understood Sirius' humor. There, sitting in the furthest corner from view, though still in the front row, was a pink-haired Severus. It was really a brilliant show of Transfiguration knowledge, Lily contemplated as she hid a rampant giggle with her hand, clamped over her mouth. The group took their seats, surrounding each other as Lily contemplated the Slytherin boy. He was bent over his desk in a way that advertised to her that anything green on his outfit had turned pink. His hair seemed fluffy, in a way that reminded her somewhat of a Furby, a toy she and Petunia had shared in their youth. His skin was a beautiful shade of lavender, and the cheek she could see was a flaming red from his blush. She forced herself to look away when she noticed the pointed, rather elven ears poking out from the cotton candy hair. It was, as Remus had promised, a rather brilliant way to get back at him, and tamer than Sirius' usual payback curses. She wondered briefly if it was actually a curse, or just a lingering form of Transfiguration Sirius had learnt somewhere. She decided, as James draped an arm over her shoulders, that she didn't truly care as long as James was happy. Nothing else mattered.

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AN: End installment four! Tell me whatcha think! This one was longer, I'm proud of myself.


	5. The Flashback

AN: She finally updated! Yeah, sorry, I've been writing lyrics for a while, and I'd forgotten the papers that have all my chapter ideas on them at one of my friends' houses. Whoopsie! But, not to fear, I'm back people! And now, the newest installment of 'The Awakening'!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but it makes me happy that JKR doesn't hate us for messing around with her characters! All for the good of one's imagination. =) Thank goodness for her.

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Lily was chewing on a piece of Honeyed Ham, enjoying the taste as she listened to those around her. James, whose arm was tossed around her shoulders in a casual display of affection, was laughing at a joke that Sirius had made, most likely at the Slytherins' expense. Lily found that his jokes had become quite a bit funnier since Severus' last curse on James. Along with this fact, she'd noted that she thought of the black-haired Slytherin much less ever since. Her thoughts were more often focused on her classes and the Marauders. Her hands were filled still, even though they were now reduced to only Sirius and Peter pulling all the pranks.

Lily pulled her gaze away from Remus, who was taking part in a large, two person reenactment of a joke he'd caught wind of over the last summer, to gaze at the Slytherin table. Severus was sitting with Avery. A girl named Laureen was on his other side, chatting over Severus with Avery. Lily had always thought the girl had a jonesing for Avery. Just as she thought this, Avery turned his head to send a seething glare at her, Laureen turning her head in time to do the same. She blinked for a few moments at the two people she used to spend time with. She'd never liked them, they were into dark things, things that worried Lily. However, they'd never been anything less than civil to her, she assumed because of Severus...

---------------FLASHBACK--------------

Lily smiled to Severus, laughing happily at a joke he'd made about James. She'd always loved how he could make fun of her fellow Gryffindors despite their taunts and tricks, as she was quite inable to convince or cajole them to leave the boy alone. James Potter was the worst. He was the leader, the others did anything he bade. She didn't even understand how he could treat the boy the way their little gang did. James claimed, on every possible occasion and in every public setting, that he was madly in love with Lily. He'd done so since third year, and in complete ignorance of the fact that this was incredibly embarassing, he'd yet to prove it to her and they were now into their fifth year here at Hogwarts.

Albeit, on every Friday there was a fresh bouquet of beautiful conjured Lilies outside her dorm door, every Wednesday found her recieving at least one Chocolate Frog from him via randomly picked classmates, and every Saturday there was some proclamation of his love for her to be gaped at in the Gryffindor common room. Both the day before they left, and the day they arrived back from any and all school breaks, there would be a poem or article of some sort written by him, at the beginning of this year she had recieved a beautiful sketch that must have taken him all summer, of a gorgeous Orange Lily, her name scrawled over and over to create it's stem. She would never admit to anyone, but she kept all of his written pieces, and the picture would be brought home with her over the holidays, to be placed safely into a scrapbook back at home. She was absolutely certain that if anyone knew of this, it would quickly get around to Potter, who seemed to have ears everywhere, and she'd never hear the end of it. She shuddered to think of what would happen then. The girls in her dorm already smelled of Lillies wherever they went as they used the conjured flowers to decorate everything in the room.

She brought her attention back to Severus as Avery shoved the fourth year who'd been sitting next to him aside, pushing his way into the seat so as to chat with his fellow Slytherin friend. Lily nodded in greeting, doing the same to a girl who'd only recently become friends with the boys as she sidled into the seat next to Lily, their hair, red and black, looking a shock to all onlookers. She tucked into her mashed potatoes, drizzled with gravy, as Avery and Severus spoke, discussing their new DADA teacher, Professor Raindau. Lily thought that he was rather lacking in the department, and Avery laughed boisterously at something he'd said during a lesson the other day. Lily never truly payed attention in that particular class. She had a Note-Taking Quill take notes the Professor gave them, but she spent most of the hour focused on reading their assigned texts, which gave quite a bit more information than the Professor himself.

It was Thanksgiving Eve, a time for celebration across the globe. The Great Hall was covered with festive objects, including cornucopias and turkeys floating above, which she suspected were truly just odds and ends that had been Transfigured to look like the desired objects. On most days, one would sit with their own house at their own table. However, she found ahead of time that she would much preffer to sit with her best friend on this particular night, a night for giving thanks. Earlier in the day, after their Potions lesson was over, she'd stayed after for a few moments to ask Slughorn permission to sit at his table. The man, whom she knew admired the ease with which she fell into Potions, had agreed that he would not complain if she sat with Severus. She knew that McGonagall would not look anywhere but to Gryffindor table for her, and after the feast she could simply say that she preffered to spend her Thanksgiving in her own way. The Head of Gryffindor would not complain, and it wouldn't truly be a lie.

Lily had pulled her fiery-red hair into a low ponytail, used a simple charm to straighten it, and had performed a rather difficult charm, which would wear off while she slept after the feast, on a single outfit so that rather than her Gryffindor badge and colors, it instead displayed Slytherin's. She kept her head rather low, always worrying that one of the other Professors would catch her and she'd be in great amounts of trouble. As she slowly ate her potatoes, listening to the conversations around her, a startling conversation caught her attention as she merely caught a whisp of it. "....and I mean, how dare she sit here, the dirty little mudblood. She should just go back to her own table with the other pathetic..." She yanked her attention forcefully away from the 6th years' conversation and concentrated with all her might on Avery, who was now saying something about how his uncle, a Pureblood scholar, would have been a much better DADA professor, because he knew about the Dark Arts and he could teach them 'useful' information.

Lily lifted her head at this, the prospect of what exactly Avery would find 'useful' about information on the Dark Arts disturbing to her, but instead of staring at Avery, her eyes focused on someone else entirely, two tables over. Three boys were staring at her. One, whose name was Remus Lupin, was glancing sadly at her as he chewed his food, though he didn't stare as the other two did. He merely moved his eyes between the food on his plate and her, the sad look always there. Sirius, the boy next to him, glared rather visciously. She noted that it wasn't truly at her, though, more just her vicinity. Turning to look three seats down from herself, there sat his brother, Regulus, involving himself in the full-blown conversation that had apparently erupted between the Slytherin's at Avery's remark. Turning her gaze from him, she returned to the staring Gryffindor's, the last of which was the most intriguing to her. James Potter was staring at her, a mixture of expressions on his face. He looked a cross between dumbfounded, amazed, offended, and utterly confused. She would have smiled at his expression, his mouth hanging open a bit, were it not for the fact that the expression itself confused her.

She pulled her eyes away, a difficult task as now the fellow Gryffindor's surrounding him were trying to discover what had him so enthralled, while Peter Pettigrew remained oblivious, shoveling food into his mouth with amazing speed. She'd whipped her head down so fast that, had she not caught it at the very last second, her ponytail would have fallen into the remains of her splendid dinner. She merely stared at the table, until the food disappearing pulled her back to the world. She mumbled to Severus that she wasn't feeling well as the desserts, pies and pumpkin juice appeared on the table, turning her back to the Professors and nearly running, trying to keep her gaze off her house table as she left the Great Hall. Deciding to take the long way back to the common room, which would incidentally take her out of sight the soonest, she whipped a left corner as soon as she passed through the doors to the Great Hall.

There was, mercifully, nobody in the common room or dorms when she returned, and the only questioning on her outfit was recieved from the Fat Lady, whom she ignored and couldn't hear any longer once the portrait closed behind her. Lily sighed, standing alone in the middle of the common room for a moment. She pulled her hair down, it puffed in the front as it fell forward, resting against her green-and-silver clad chest. She shook her head, stalking up the stairs to her dorm. She'd left early for the dinner to meet up with Severus in an empty hall to perform the charms on her clothing, so she was utterly surprised when she reached her dorm's door.

Nearly the entire stairway for 6 steps was covered, to the point that she wondered how people had gotten down to the Great Hall from the dorms above. There was a string of Lillies, tied together by the stems, wrapped around the entrance to her dorm. Three separate cornucopias rested on the steps around the door, filled with fruit and the like, which looked real. There were at least seven boxes of Chocolate Frogs, and three bags of Every Flavor Beans. There were also cornucopias that looked as though they were made of Licorice Wands, filled with various candies that she did and didn't recognize. She noticed Lillies sitting here and there amongst the presents, it took her only a few moments to realize that they were candies themselves. She started. They must've been special-made, they'd have cost a fortune. As she started to feel overwhelmed by the gifts, she realized that this was the reason she and Severus hadn't been bothered during their last trip to Hogsmeade. James would have been much too busy, enlisting the help of his three closest friends to help him retrieve all of this and get it back to the castle without her or any other gossiping students noticing.

She sighed, resting her weight against the cold stone wall. So this was the reason he'd stared at her with that odd look. Oh, the things that must have been going through that poor boy's head. He could've thought he'd truly made her hate him, or that she hadn't recieved his gifts and was currently worrying over where they'd ended up. She briefly wondered who he'd asked for help from to get everything up to it's proper place before she realized that if he was worrying over where it had ended up, she could help with that. Pulling out her wand, she pulled off an extremely advanced, silent _Wingardium Leviosa_, floating the foods, candies, and all else into the dorm. She let it all set on the floor between her bed and Alice's, there was no way to hide it all. Besides that, the girls had probably already seen it. She walked back into the stairwell, gently pulling the flowers off of the entranceway. Using a simple sticking charm, she hung them from her bottom left bedpost, which was just about the only place in the room that was Lily-free until this moment. She turned and shut the door before stripping out of the green-covered uniform and shoving it into the bottom of her trunk, pulling out a simple red long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, as the night was beginning to cool down, and dressing in them.

Mulling over her presents, she picked out one of the boxes of Chocolate Frogs and, grabbing a quill laying on her bedside table with a jar of ink, she quickly scratched out a statement on the golden part of the box. Setting the quill down and screwing the lid back onto the jar of ink, she leaped up from the bed and rushed down the stairs. She bounded up the boys' staircase, stopping to peer in doors here and there. She knew when she'd found their room, as James' broom stood against the wall next to his bed. Their room looked like a tornado had been conjured in the middle of it; there were books, parchment, broken quills and Daily Prophets on nearly every flat surface. Sirius' bed, which was telltale by the 'PlayWizard' poking out from under his pillow, was devoid of it's blankets, which had fallen to the floor by the foot, a corner held up, wrapped around the bedpost. She shook her head, it looked like the poor House Elves were terrified to come in here for some reason. She gazed around for a few moments, trying to detect a place where Potter would immediately see the candies. She eventually shook her head and set them on his pillow, the only clear place in the room. She exited quickly, pulling the dark wooden door shut behind her.

She rushed even faster down the stairs this time and raced up her own, entering her dorm and shutting the door as she began to hear the sound of people talking down in the common room, dinner must have been over. She hopped onto her own bed, picking up a bag of Every Flavor Beans and opening her copy of _'Defenses Against the Dark Arts And How to Properly Perform Them'_. She'd just popped an orange-colored bean into her mouth, which turned out to be orange-flavored, as she'd expected, when Alice, Molly, and Lucy came rushing into the room, not even shutting the door all the way in their haste. All of the sudden, questions and comments were being thrown at her by the girls. It took a few moments to get them to be quiet, which ended up requiring her raised voice, but when they did, there was a whole new noise, which quieted the four girls in the room better than Lily had. There was an extremely loud 'whoop'ing sound down in the the common room, and male laughter that was every bit as loud. Lily dropped her head into her hands, she had no doubt that if there weren't jinxes placed on the girls' stairs the boys would have come up, whooping and laughing all the way.

Sally Murdoch, a fellow Muggle-born and their last roommate, came rushing into the room. She looked directly at Lily. "Really? 'Thank you so much for the gifts, these seem to be your favorite???" The girl questioned, quoting precisely what she had written on the box. As Molly and Alice toppled over on the latter's bed in fits of laughter, Sally continued. "Really, Lily. Those four are down there acting like we've just one the Quidditch Cup!" She stated, clearly exasperated. Molly sat up, her smile wide, obviously barely holding back the laughter. "Which we may just do, now that James is already _soaring_!" Whatever else the ginger-haired girl was going to say was lost to another fit of loud laughter, which the other three girls joined in on as Lily grabbed a handful of the candies in her lap and tossed them at Molly and Alice.

--------------END FLASHBACK--------------

"Lily? Lily, are you okay?" James' deep voice, becoming saturated with worry, sunk into her head, pulling her back from the memory. She blinked and looked around her, eyes coming back into focus quickly. The Marauders and the other Gryffindors that surrounded them at the table were all staring at her with worried expressions on their faces. She blushed at all of the attention and ducked down a bit, unconsciously trying to disappear under James' arm, still heavy on her shoulders. The others started to laugh at her obviously surprised and bewildered face, James smirked at her a bit. She stuffed a forkful of mashed potatoes, the same as in her memory, into her mouth to distract herself. The others went back to the conversation that she had missed, while James kept watching her. She shook her head as she swallowed. "I'm fine, really. I was just... Reminiscing." She explained. He watched her warily for a few more moments, before apparently deciding she wasn't lying. He kissed her on the cheek and she smiled, blushing, while they all went back to enjoying their Thanksgiving meal, the cornucopias and fake turkeys floating above as usual.

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AN: How was that for a return??? R&R please!!!


	6. The Provocation

AN: Another update. This is actually pretty short, but it's not that big of an idea, so... Yeah.

Disclaimer: Still don't own. Though none of us really have any hope that we ever will. We're so proud of Jo.

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Lily's eyes popped wide as she grasped onto the railing to her right with both hands, just barely holding herself from tumbling down the rest of the long staircase. She stared as the group of Slytherin's passed her, stopping about ten steps below. The boy at the head turned to face her and she recognized Andrew Slate, one of Slytherin's Chasers. He sneered up at her, the group with him following suit. She simply stared down at him, her Head Girl's badge gleaming in the morning's rising sun. She knew better than to start anything with students, especially the Slytherin's. Before she knew, Gryffindor would have lost plenty of points and she would no longer be a Head.

"Oh this is almost a perfect picture. Now if only there were a puddle of mud below for you to fall in. Then you'd be right at home, wouldn't you, you filthy mudblood. Your kind doesn't belong here, just go back to your muggle-infested home." The 6th year spat at her. Giggles came from the girls of his lackey group, while the boys continued to snear. She simply raised an eyebrow at him before righting herself and stalking down the stairs, amazed that he didn't attempt to trip her again as she passed him. However, just as she was about to step onto the landing, something appeared before her. She barely stopped in time, avoiding the mud by a single hair's breadth. She sighed, not wanting to waste her time here all morning. She whipped out her wand and quickly cleaned up the mess before whipping around to face him again. He was chortling, along with his other Slytherin's. The stopped laughing when they realized she'd not slipped and fallen in the mud as he'd planned. She smiled brightly up at him. "Next time, try to keep your filth out of my way, Slate." She stated in a happy tone before stalking off to her destination, leaving behind a dumbfounded group of kids still standing halfway down a staircase.

When she entered the Great Hall, she immediately spotted the Marauders and headed off to sit with them. Remus, who'd been sitting close to James, noted her arrival and scooted down a placement, making room for her. She nodded to him and took the seat, beginning to pile her breakfast onto her plate. "Where were you? You're never late." James questioned after he swallowed a piece of egg. She frowned at him, using his napkin to wipe a piece of egg-white from the corner of his lips before answering. "I accidentally slept in a bit, I'm afraid. Not to mention that after that matter, I got held up in the stairway on the way here. More insults tossed about by the Slytherin's. This time it was Slate." She stated before chewing on a forkful of the warm, sunshine-yellow eggs. He gave her a look and she swallowed, placing her left hand on his arm. "It's nothing James. Only more of that 'mudblood' nonsense, and stop looking at me like that. I know none of us want anyone to be called that, but it's going to happen. I say all the better if they say it to me, because I don't care about what they have to say. I get better marks than Slate anyway, so what does it truly matter? I mean," she took on a sarcastically devastated tone, "how horrible that Andrew Slate doesn't like me. Really, I weep in my bed every night because of it." She teased the boy, reaching up to ruffle his hair and raising her brows at him.

Sighing, he nodded, ducking back into his eggs, allowing her to pull in some of her own breakfast. Sirius, who had until this moment been silent, probably still half asleep, spoke up. "Oh just ignore him anyway. You know he's just teasing you because you're publicly friendly with us now, and after what we did to Snape... You know, apparently someone snapped a photo of him walking down the hall with his gorgeous pink hair and now their trying to sell it. I'm thinking I might spring for it. Anyhow, if it was Slate this morning, then he's still angry about how we crushed Slytherin in that game, too." He said with a definite drawl, he was so tired that Lily stared for a few moments, chewing on a piece of bacon as she wondered how he managed to stay propped up at the table. He seemed more tired than usual. But then, Sirius was tired until lunchtime just about every day, so who was she to tell. He normally kept quiet in the morning. Either way, she nodded with the other boys at this theory. It made much more sense to her than the part about Severus. She didn't think he had that many friends, even in his own House. Either way, she was certain Andrew Slate wasn't one of them.

They ate in silence until the bell rang and the food started disappearing. James turned and gave her a light, one-armed hug before hurrying off to his next class. Peter stalked by behind Sirius as he made slow progress in standing up. She stared at him for a moment before rushing off behind Remus. Molly joined them on the way to History Of Magic, starting a conversation with them on the House Cup, and who she was thinking was going to 'for sure' get points taken away today.

The rest of Lily's morning was truly rather boring, the only upside being lunch, when she sat with the Marauders as she did at every meal. This time Molly joined them, and Sirius was, as usual, back to wisecracking and playing small pranks. When they entered the room, he and Remus had been fighting over whether Japan's or Scandanavia's Quidditch team was better, an argument which quickly diffused in a way that Lily payed no attention to. She spent the time eating and conversing with James over plans for hall patrol that night, passing the plans on to the Prefect's.

However, after lunch, something interesting happened. She was sitting at her desk in Defense Against The Dark Arts with Molly, reading her text as usual, when she felt something collide with the back of her head. Her head popped up and she cast her eyes about. It was a particularly boring day, and she caught site of Holly Manston sleeping, her head resting in her arms on her desk. She made a mental note to take 5 points off from Ravenclaw and, wondering all the while what had hit her, went back to her reading. Not two minutes later, she glanced up again as something bounced off of the back of her head once again. She frowned and set her book down, keeping her eyes peeled so she wouldn't miss it next time. The thought that it could just be Peeves registered in her mind, just in time for a silver wad of something to go sailing past her ear, plunking onto the floor near Professor Rudytoole, whom the students often called Professor 'Ruddy-Fool'. Certain that he would notice nothing, she turned her head at the sound of snickers, only to see Andrew Slate and Roberta Jamison, another Chaser. Roberta had her wand in her hand, and there were three more of the little balls, which she now realized were wads of silver paper.

She waited until she was facing forward properly once more, before the grin broke out on her face. For some reason, the delightful little Slytherin's seemed to keep forgetting that she was Head Girl, and as such, she could take away points for rule breaking and improper behaviour or conduct in class. She smirked. Twenty points should be enough for this. Not only were they disrupting a fellow students' learning process, they were also using their wands improperly in class. The rest of the hour flew by as the two continued to throw the silver wads at her head. On the upside, none of it hurt, and she had a very long fuse. At the end of the hour, as she was gathering her things to head off to her next class, she overheard the two talking, undoubtably about her, more comments about mudbloods. Before she could stop herself, she found her wand swishing towards the two students' backs. Muttering a quick incantation, she laughed along with the others in the class as the Chasers suddenly dropped all that they were holding. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't seem to pick any of their things up. Lily smiled to herself, proud of her successful 'Butter Fingers' jinx. It would only last twenty four hours or so, and so Lily stalked off with the rest of the class, leaving behind the two who were still attempting to pick up their things.

The rest of Lily's day was largely lackluster in comparison. Even her Advanced Potions class didn't hold it's usual shine, if only because she was done halfway through the hour and had nothing to do for the rest of the class but her homework. At the end of the day, she deducted and added the points to the designated houses that she'd noted throughout the day, on her way to the Great Hall. Once inside the room, she found her usual seat next to James and started choosing what she wanted to eat, piling it onto her plate. As she began to eat, she noted that Sirius, who was sitting on her other side, kept glancing for periods as long as full minutes at the Slytherin table. She knew that he suspected something when he caught her watching him watch the other students.

The group was able to get away with only three more minutes of comfortable silence. All of a sudden, Sirius raised his goblet, holding it out in front of him, Lily took the sign to mean that they were toasting something. Once the other three boys had raised their own goblet's discreetly, Sirius nodded. "To Lily." He smirked at her, and she knew she was in for it. "For finally rounding up the courage to take the last step, and finally become a Marauder." They inclined their goblets, indicating the customary tinkling noise of glasses being tapped together in a toast. Remus was the first. "How, exactly, did she just so suddenly become a Marauder?" He questioned after swallowing a sip of his pumpkin juice. Sirius' smirk only widened. "Ickle Lilykins here cast a bit of a jinx, didn't you _Head Girl_?" He was clearly enjoying himself, he only smiled wider when she sneered at him. She frowned at the other three boys, who only sat gaping at her. She shook her head, exasperated. "Really, boys. Like you've never done anything just slightly less-than perfect. Honestly. They were tossing wads of paper at me all DADA hour. It's merely a bit of payback, I should say they deserve it." She said, trying to downplay the situation as much as possible, digging into a thin slab of ham. She ignored Sirius' not-so-quiet cat call as James tossed his arm around her shoulders, which seemed to be quickly becoming his favorite pose. She couldn't hide her wide smile and instead, she jabbed Sirius in the side with her elbow and continued to poke him throughout the meal with her fork.

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AN: Tell me if you enjoyed it, despite the awesome shortness.


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